The field of the present invention relates to wireless communications networks.
This application may be related to subject matter disclosed in U.S. non-provisional application Ser. No. 09/715,705 filed Nov. 17, 2000 (now U.S. Pat. No. 6,553,218), in U.S. non-provisional application Ser. No. 10/393,584 filed Mar. 21, 2003 (now U.S. Pat. No. 6,975,851), and in U.S. non-provisional application Ser. No. 11/298,558 filed Dec. 9, 2005, each of said applications being hereby incorporated by reference as if fully set forth herein.
The above-cited references disclose, inter alia, apparatus and methods for implementing a wireless communications network, including so-called “mesh networks”. In a mesh network, a pair of network nodes may be connected by multiple pathways through the network, resulting in redundancy that enhances the reliability of network connectivity. If network nodes are mobile in such a mesh network, pathways through the system may be constantly changing, and the network pathways (optimal or possible) connecting a pair of network nodes may vary dramatically with time. Tracking the movement and connectivity of moving network nodes, and storage of and access to this information, allows ongoing evaluation of network coverage and performance, and routing of data packets through the network to a destination as the available network paths to the destination change. A centralized administration unit may be employed to track the movement and connectivity of moving network nodes, and/or such information may be stored locally at each node and its neighbors. User (i.e., subscriber) identification data, authentication data, and/or usage and billing data may be similarly tracked, stored, and accessed, centrally and/or distributed locally. Distributed local storage (at each network apparatus and redundantly at its neighbors) may enhance the redundancy and reliability of the wireless network, and is the subject of this disclosure.